1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to providing power oil from oil well production. More specifically, the invention relates to processing production at the wellhead to provide short-travel for the high pressure processed oil to the downhole pump at the same time the excess is conducted to sales.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hydraulic, downhole production pumps have long been a familiar tool in the oil field. Fluid (oil) is elevated to the order of 3,000 pounds per square inch to actuate the pump so it will bring oil well production to the surface. Kobe, Inc., a subsidiary of Baker Oil Tools, Inc., has been a leader in the manufacturing of the downhole pump and its hydraulic supply system.
There have been many attempts to provide an inexpensive source of hydraulic fluid for the downhole pumps. It is obvious that the oil produced is an available source. It is right there. It has the basic qualities needed for hydraulic fluid. On paper it is an ideal source.
Cleaning the produced crude oil for power oil has not been as easy as it looks on paper. At least cleaning it enough for use as hydraulic fluid in downhole pumps. The trouble centers around the solids which come with the production.
The familiar heater-treater has long been capable of separating produced water from oil. But the solids are another matter. The advent of the electric treating unit has helped this situation.
Petreco Division of Petrolite Corporation pushed its electric treater system into the power oil picture with an experimental installation on Long Beach Oil Development Co. property. Data on this research was published in paper SPE 3549 by Hettick and Lucas prepared for the 49th Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME held Oct. 3-6, 1971 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Apparently a careful analysis was made over a two-year period of the ability of that system to remove water, particulate matter, and water-soluble salts from make-up oil supplied a closed power oil system. Make-up oil requirements reduced 50% and mechanical repair costs reduced 70%.
A student of this art might now conclude that a practical package would include an electric treater. However, such has not been the case. About three years ago, one of my competitors put together a unit to supply power oil. Surprisingly, the only processing unit was a separator with no heating or treating function. Of course, produced crude through this unit was gaseous and dirty. Further, a heater-treater was also required at the central tank battery to treat the crude for sale. Still, many of these units were sold in the past. Today the pump repairs and downtime have accumulated and the units fallen into bad repute.
I believe the position logical that no one has processed oil well production at the wellhead to the quality required by a hydraulic downhole pump with excess being sent directly to sales. Certainly no one has provided control to switch processed oil from storage to the pump when power oil demand exceeds production and automatically return excess production to sales when production exceeds power oil demand. A unit is needed which can provide these functions within an oil well production system for a number of oil wells.